Australian energy workers the highest paid in the world, study finds

Australia, Norway and Canada lead the world with the highest salaries in the oil and natural gas industry, according to a survey by a job-recruitment firm.

Average annual salaries for locally employed professionals in the oil and gas industry are the highest in Australia, at the equivalent of $163,600 ($156,615), while Norwegians earned $152,600, according to a study by Hays Plc, a London-based recruitment firm, and Oil and Gas Job Search, an employment website.

Australian energy workers ... the highest paid in the world, according to an international study. Photo: Jessica Shapiro

Average salaries in the US were $US121,400, ranking below Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands, the report said.

Rising demand for fossil fuels and a "relatively stable" price for oil has helped to boost salaries for the five million people employed by the industry globally, the report said. Brent crude, the global benchmark, has average $US110.22 during the past 12 months and traded at $US110.50 at 11.05am in New York today, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

"Despite the concerns in Europe and a slowdown in China's growth, the sentiment in the oil and gas industry remains positive," said Duncan Freer, managing director of Oil and Gas Job Search, in an e-mailed statement today.

The global average annual salary was $US87,300, an 8.5 per cent increase from the previous year, according to the report. Salaries are expected to increase 4 per cent to 6 per cent this year, according to the report. Local workers in Sudan earned the least in the survey at $US31,100.

The salary survey received data from about 25,000 people in 53 countries, covering 24 different job categories, including Business Development, Drilling and Petroleum Engineering.